Thorn • Scott Summers

two

Florence stepped out of the taxi, having asked the driver to stop outside the gates. She didn't want to bring any extra attention to herself, and showing up at the front doors in a bright yellow taxi by herself would do that.
She walked closer to the gates and they opened on their own. Tugging the strap of her backpack closer to her, she walked in and immediately saw other kids. Some chatting, some playing, and only a few amount of them actually studying or doing schoolwork.

As she walked towards the front entrance, someone unique caught her eye. A scrawny blue skinned boy with a tail. She was shocked and intrigued, never having seen any other mutant except for Lucas, especially like that. Diversity was new for her, but she liked it.

She was broken from her thoughts when she felt someone staring at her. She felt it from the same direction, from the same group the blue boy was in. She looked at them- three girls and a gray haired guy, and then she finally saw him.
Another boy, a brunette with nicely styled hair and solid red lensed sunglasses. Technically, she didn't know if he actually was staring at her, because his glasses were completely opaque. Still, she felt it, and she didn't like it. Instead of creeping her out, it irritated her. She squinted at him slightly as she walked up the stairs.

Without her control, a daffodil that was next to the tree he was sitting against wrapped around his wrist tightly, enough for him to wince quietly. He felt it and looked down, then looked back up at the school. She was no longer there, having slipped inside the building.
He looked back down at his wrist. The plant's stem had been stretched longer than he'd ever seen before, and it was wrapped around him twice. No one else had seemed to notice, too absorbed in the conversation. He furrowed his eyebrows under his glasses, and yanked his wrist from the earth, breaking the daffodil.

Florence was immediately surprised. The school was already much larger than she thought, and it didn't feel hostile. She looked around and felt 4 different plants before she even saw them. Three ferns and a small Bonsai tree. She frowned when she felt them dry, as they probably hadn't been looked at twice in weeks.

She took the small business card out of her pocket and turned it over in her hands nervously. She bit her lip, wondering if she was making the right decision. She looked back up, and saw mostly children, some younger and some older, but then she saw two grown men about pass her. One was tall with glasses and the other was in a wheelchair.

She stopped them before she thought of what to say. "Excuse me?"

They both halted their conversation and turned to her.

"Hi, young lady,-" The man in the wheelchair said kindly with a British accent, and then stopped his sentence abruptly. He stared at her slightly before continuing. He read her thoughts and racked his own brain for a Florence. The only one he remembered was a Florence in his psychoanalysis class in college, but he couldn't think of any students with the name.
"What can we help you with?"

"I'm, um, I'm looking for Charles Xavier?"

The man smiled. "Well, you're talking to him."
He held his hand out and she shook it. The taller man did the same and she repeated the gesture.
"Hank McCoy, Charles Xavier."
"Florence Westling," she said.

"What can we help you with?"

"I was sent here by a friend of yours, Lucas Carr?"

Charles's face lit up, and he smiled.

"Well, come with us, Florence. We can talk about this outside."

"Why not in your office?" Florence asked slightly confused.

"The weather is beautiful today, don't you think?"